When
by PriestessOfNox
Summary: My first Season Two story in the perspective of Superman X mostly about Brainiac Five. Contains one sided slash.
1. Chapter 1

When talking to Yu-Gi-Ah, I realized I haven't written anything Season Two, thus nothing with Superman X. I haven't decided yet whether or not to leave it as is. I suppose it depends on what people think of it. ENJOY! And have a Happy New Year in 2008!

When?

At first Superman X did not trust Brainiac Five. He knew what the history files said about the android, who he was descended from. He let his distrust, his dislike, be shown straight from the beginning.

He didn't know why he was, internally, surprised when Brainiac Five was equally open in showing his distrust and dislike right from the beginning.

Perhaps it had been that eager smile Brainiac Five had when the 'S' first came into view? Or the way the excitement fell the moment Superman X fully came into view? Had Superman X really expected a different reaction?

There had been no time to consider it. Imperiax had to be stopped. The Legion came with him, Brainiac Five a bit grudgingly. None of them seemed to like Superman X, especially not the ever critical, know-it-all, Brainiac Five.

But it didn't matter. Superman X didn't need them to like him, especially not Brainiac Five. All he needed was to get the job done.

The job was not done. Brainiac Five had made it worse. Now Superman X was fighting the old battle on a new, unfamiliar, battlefield without the constant of his creators behind him, creating the plans. Now it seemed he had to relay on Brainiac Five for the plans, even though his previous one had failed.

He still didn't know why he hadn't left the android behind to be erased from existence, instead of grabbing hold of him on his way into the wormhole into the 31st centaury. History would be better off without him, but Superman X knew he was not the one to decide how history came to be.

Superman X tried not to think of the way it felt in those 15 seconds where he had his arms around Brainiac Five's middle, the android's back against his chest. He tried to forget that small smile Brainiac Five gave him when they separated. It meant nothing.

Then came Superman, the man he had been created from. It had been Brainiac Five to retrieve him from even further back history, smiling as if everything that had happened had made it worth it for this task.

Superman X would be lying if he said meeting the original hadn't made him nervous. This was who his existence would had been impossible without. The image still idolized by millions in his time, greatly trusted and liked by the Legion in this time. What would the original think of his existence?

A blink and Brainiac Five, still smiling, had returned with the original. The smile, confidence and optimism had done nothing but annoyed him. Then the original had tried to talk to him alone and compared him to Batman, a image still awed over and feared in his time. He wasn't sure if he was insulted or complimented.

Then Brainiac Five called for 'Superman' and they both answered. Superman X didn't know why he was so annoyed that Brainiac Five said it didn't matter which one. All he knew was that they knew where Imperiax was.

It was Brainiac Five that came after him, saving him from nearly dying at Imperiax's hand. It was Brainiac Five that went with him in the Legion Cruiser after Imperiax, and saved him again from it's explosion by pulling him close enough so he could be protected within his force field.

Sometime between their first encounter and that moment Brainiac Five had somehow earned some of Superman X's trust. Before he never would have allowed himself to be pulled towards someone, especially not in a moment where death was a strong possibility.

It had been a while since then and Superman X didn't know whether or not Brainiac Five returned any of his trust. He had the feeling that Brainiac Five trusted him not to get anyone killed, to stay focused on his mission to destroy Imperiax and not to do something _really_ stupid but not in anything else. It somehow seemed unfair.

Superman X hated seeing Brainiac Five with Superman. Hated to hear Brainiac Five talk about Superman. And he really, _really_ hated how Brainiac Five had went from hating Shrinking Violet for replacing Superman on their mission to stop Imperiax from absorbing the energy in that cloud to trusting and liking her more then Superman X who had all of the powers of Superman. It seemed like Brainiac Five trusted and liked everyone more then he trusted Superman X. It was driving him nuts!

Still, why did he care? That was the question that kept Superman X up at night, what lead him to walk around the space craft that Chameleon Boy's Dad had leant the Legion. There had to be a easier way the figure it out without loosing sleep and walking around aimlessly when it was the night shift.

Walking by a open door, Superman X stopped and walked back to it. Getting a better look, he was surprised to find Brainiac Five slumped over a workbench.

Did he dare go in?

Superman X scowled at the thought. The android didn't scare him!

Strolling in, Superman X went straight to the workbench. He wasn't sure what he had planned to say, but whatever it was self terminated the moment he got a decent look at the smaller boy.

Brainiac Five was fast asleep with his head resting in his folded arms. The project he was working on, unidentifiable by Superman X, was resting just before him, forgotten.

At first Superman X was taken back by the fact that Brainiac Five actually slept. He had thought that the android just worked all the time, plugging himself into the wall whenever he ran low on energy. Sleeping almost made him seem alive.

Superman X immediately felt ashamed at the thought. Brainiac Five may have been some sort of machine, but he was alive. He was a person. Thinking otherwise would not only reflect badly on himself, but smear the memory of his robotic parents.

Trying to clear himself of the guilt, Superman X wondered what he should do. Should he wake Brainiac Five? No. He knew the android well enough that if Brainiac Five woke up, he would probably go right back to whatever he was working on.

Should he just leave Brainiac Five the way he was? No. Staying like that all night would probably hurt the android's back. Then there was the possibility that he would wake up on his own and just go back to work.

Should he take Brainiac Five to his room? That would require touching him again. He hadn't so much as shook the genius's hand since the day they first met.

The idea of touching Brainiac Five suddenly made Superman X nervous. He couldn't understand it. He'd just be picking him up, carrying him and then putting him down. No big deal. It wasn't like he was defusing a bomb.

Perhaps he should just try a simple touch first? To see if he could handle the extended contact of carrying him?

Not sure of why, Superman X began to remove his glove. Not many people knew his suit wasn't a solid one piece. The arms separated from the hands when the blue met the red. It was hard to remove the gloves, the reason why he didn't do it very often. His hands were sensitive, since they were rarely exposed to the air.

Reaching out Superman X, without thinking, touched Brainiac Five's hair. His hand tingled and he almost pulled away. Not one to be deterred, however, he stubbornly buried his hand into it. He was amazed by how soft it was.

His hand drifted out of Brainiac Five's hair and against the side of the equally soft face. What was he doing?

Suddenly the sound of someone coming reached Superman X's ears. The term, 'oh shit' ran through his mind and his hand went flying back into his glove. He stepped away from Brainiac Five just as the footsteps reached the room.

Superman peered into the room curiously. He glanced at Brainiac Five and then turned to Superman X with a question clear on his face.

"He's sleeping," stated Superman X, but the stare continued. He returned it with his own question. "What should we do?"

"Take him to his room," said Superman as if it was the easiest question imaginable. He smiled and went to Brainiac Five's side. Without hesitation, he picked Brainiac Five up bridal style.

Not noticing the move, Brainiac Five slept on, his head drifting to the side so it was resting against Superman's chest.

All Superman X could do was stare as Superman wished him goodnight and walked out of the room with Brainiac Five in his arms.

After that Superman X began to observe Superman and Brainiac Five when they were together. Granted there weren't many opportunities. Whenever they were together he was usually away and when he was there Superman was usually elsewhere. The only time all three were in the same place was when there were no missions to be had. That was a very rare occurrence.

Luckily it didn't take much observation to realize what was going on. Brainiac Five was head over heels in love with Superman who was oblivious to this. While that part had been easy, Superman's feelings were harder to figure out. He wasn't sure if Superman just cared about Brainiac Five in a friendship way or if he was just as much in love with Brainiac Five and just didn't realize it.

Either way it made Superman X angry. And he still couldn't figure out why.

Brainiac Five walked by him, but walked back as if he hadn't noticed him in time to stop the first time around.

"Could you help me with something?"

Nodding Superman X stood to follow Brainiac Five. Did this mean he had earned more of Brainiac Five's trust? They went to the engine room where there was a large looking device. He recognized part of it as being what Brainiac Five was working on the night he found him asleep.

"What's this?" asked Superman X.

"It's an adaptation to the engines. Hopefully it will help us go faster the next time we find Imperiax. Superman helped me get it in here before he had to go with Lighting Lad and Cosmic Boy, but I'd like to get this finished so I can do the tests to make sure it works _before_ we need it," explained Brainiac Five, wondering why Superman X's scowl suddenly deepened. He ignored it, assuming it was because of his hatred for Imperiax. "Could you lift it to that junction and hold it there until I can fasten it?"

"Sure," said Superman X lifting it as easily, if not with more ease, then Superman could have. He flew up and put it in place, watching as Brainiac Five flew up with him and changed his hand into the tools he needed to fasten the adaptation into place.

Once they were done they flew back down and Brainiac Five inspected it from below before pressing a few keys on the console.

"It seems to have taken hold," said Brainiac Five. "Just need to run a few tests to make sure it stays once the engines are in full use. Thanks for your help."

Superman X wanted to say "no problem" and leave but the words didn't come out. He watched Brainiac Five continue to type away at the console, wondering when he had realized why he cared.

Stepping forward Superman X wrapped his arms around Brainiac Five's middle, unsurprised when the smaller boy froze and the typing ceased.

"Wha-" began Brainiac Five.

"-I look like Superman," interrupted Superman X. "I have all of his powers. I have more then all of his powers. If you had met me first, do you think you could have loved me instead?"


	2. Chapter 2

04/14/08

Since I already had this chapter done, I thought I would save it for Virtgrad's birthday since she was one of the first to encourage me to continue this story.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRTGRAD! This chapter is for you.

Chapter 2

"Let go of me," said Brainiac Five, so firmly that each word sounded like its own sentence.

There was no reason for Superman X to listen to Brainiac Five. Not only did Brainiac Five have no authority over him within the Legion but he was physically stronger. He could hold onto the android as much as he wanted and there would be nothing Brainiac Five could do about it.

Still, that wasn't how he wanted it to be. Superman X released Brainiac Five and took a small step away from him, remaining within arm's reach.

Free from his earlier containment, Brainiac Five continued as if it had never been there to begin with. He typed in all the needed data and did the tests he could do at the time, never acknowledging the person he knew to be watching him.

Superman X was, indeed, watching, noting every move, every tensing and relaxing of the muscles. He had done this many times before, looking for weaknesses in the people he was going to fight. This time he was looking for cracks within well placed defenses.

Finishing up Brainiac Five saved his data and walked around Superman X to leave.

"Don't bother avoiding me. This isn't over," Superman X called after him.

"Yippee Skippy," replied Brainiac Five with an unenthusiastic twirl of his finger in the air, leaving Superman X's normal sight range.

Though Brainiac Five's less then encouraging response made Superman X feel like a complete idiot for being so rash, he still marveled at the new realization within him. It was probably the first time he cared for someone, anyone, including himself. He had always been so consumed with the destruction of Imperiax that he had forgotten to take a look at the things he was protecting.

Was it a good thing to want to protect Brainiac Five though? He knew from history that Brainiac Five had done some horrible things but he also knew from his own time that history could change.

In the history of his time there had been no Imperiax or Superman clone from the future ever mentioned during the Age of the Legion. Their very presence there could alter things so the things he read about never happened.

Scanning the ship with his x-ray vision Superman X found Brainiac Five on the bridge talking to Shrinking Violet and Bouncing Boy and wondered if he was just being an optimistic fool.

"You've been avoiding me," said Superman X, stepping out from behind a corner and blocking Brainiac Five's passage down the hall.

It had been two weeks since that day in the engine room and they had only been around each other during Legion business. Other then that it seemed that no matter what Superman X tried he couldn't get anywhere near Brainiac Five without having to sneak up on him. That alone made him feel stupid, having to sneak up on someone in order to talk to them, but he refused to be ignored. Brainiac Five's expression easily made Superman X feel more stupid, but he refused to show it.

"There's a difference between being busy and avoiding someone," said Brainiac Five, crossing his arms in agitation. "Allow me to demonstrate; I've been busy constantly repairing this ship due to constant attack and assaults on Imperiax and trying to make improvements. This is me just not wanting to be around you, also known as avoidance."

Without another word Brainiac Five swung around and headed in the direction he originally came from.

Growling, Superman X grabbed Brainiac Five's arm and dragged him into the closest room.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"My problem? This is completely cliché but you're the one with the problem. First you say that I can't be trusted. That I do some horrible thing in the future and suddenly, out of the blue, you grab me and ask me if I would have loved you if I had met you first. How do expect me to react?"

"How the hell should I know? K.3.N.T didn't exactly having dating on the training program," snarled Superman X.

"That much is obvious," smirked Brainiac Five. "If they had you would have known better to bring up the person's-"

"Their what? Their crush? Hero? Obsession? Idealized icon?" asked Superman X mockingly, feeling angrier by the second. He couldn't remember ever being so furious when Imperiax wasn't around. He couldn't remember ever feeling so bitter and childish, yet he couldn't stop.

"Don't talk about Superman that way," shouted Brainiac Five.

"Why not? It's all you talk about. Superman this and Superman that. I am so sick of hearing you talk about Superman all the time," exclaimed Superman X.

Glaring at Superman X, Brainiac took in a deep breath and started to chant Superman's name as fast as he could, making it sound as if he was trying to say a complicated tongue twister instead of a name.

"SHUT UP," shouted Superman X, punching the wall next to Brainiac Five's head. He panted out his anger, as he pulled his hand from the whole he had created.

Still glaring, Brainiac Five stared, unblinking, at Superman X, unaware that his cheek had been cut from debris during the punch and was beginning to bleed.

Superman X was fascinated by the blood for several reasons. First of all it was the first time he had seen anyone bleed from something he'd done, seeing that all his other adversaries had been completely mechanical and tended to explode when he was done with them. This was also the first time he had ever injured one of his allies, excluding the time he accidentally stepped on a kid, and he didn't know Brainiac Five could bleed. It seemed so very surreal.

Reaching out to touch the cut, Superman X immediately withdrew his hand when he saw that it was covered with oil and debris from putting it through the wall. He noted Brainiac Five's surprised expression when he peeled off the glove and reached forward to touch the cut again.

Brainiac Five winced when their skin make contact, though whether it was because the cut hurt or because of who was touching it was anyone's guess but Superman X didn't feel stupid enough to ask.

Absently rubbing his thumb over the cut, Superman X was surprised to find that the cut gone, the only evidence that it ever existed was smeared between his thumb and Brainiac Five's cheek.

"I heal quickly," said Brainiac Five, watching Superman X's face. "You can back off anytime now."

But Superman X didn't want to. Surely there could be no harm in one little kiss?

"Don't you dare," warned Brainiac Five, his glare intensifying at his correct hunch of why Superman X's expression had suddenly changed.

This, for whatever reason, made Superman X want to kiss Brainiac Five more and he began to lean in. He was only stopped when he felt something explode against his stomach. Practically jumping away he saw smoke coming off of his stomach and Brainiac Five's arm in the shape of a canon.

The blast hadn't really hurt but a planet fell to the pit of Superman X's stomach at the realization just how much Brainiac Five didn't want to be kissed by him.

"Just stay away from me," said Brainiac Five, returning his hand to normal. He walked out of the room not knowing that Superman X listened to his steps until he was even out of range of his super hearing.

Superman X pulled back on his glove and stayed in the room until Chameleon Boy, Cham, walked into the room to figure out what caused the hole.

Poor Cham really ought to have known that curiosity killed the cat… or any other form that he could take that Superman X could chase and take his frustrations out on.

After that Superman X and Brainiac Five were rarely in the same room unless it was for a mission or briefing. That was until Superman X rejoined the cruiser after a mission with a few other legionnaires and a few more others, including his unwitting DNA donor and Brainiac Five, returned from a mission to the Fortress of Solitude.

It had to be the first time Superman X had ever seen Brainiac Five stand away from Superman. Plus the tension of the entire group, awkwardness and guilt reeking from everyone besides a confused Superman, was enough to make everyone who wasn't there uncomfortable with not knowing and being unable to ask.

Everyone besides Superman X that is. He waited until everyone went their separate ways and followed Brainiac Five at a distance until he was alone.

"What happened at the fortress?"

Surprise was clear on Brainiac Five's face as he turned to the clone, looking at him for a moment as if he didn't know who he was. As strange as such an expression was, it confused Superman X more when Brainiac Five then smiled as if realizing something that completed a complicated puzzle.

"I won't bore you with the details but basically Imperiax revealed things of the timeline that Superman can't know yet and I had to erase his memory. Superman is confused because he doesn't remember what happened and the others feel guilty lying to him about it."

"And you?" asked Superman X, amazed that the android could smile after doing such a thing to his idol, for lack of words Superman X was willing to use to describe the way Brainiac Five felt about the original.

"It had to be done," said Brainiac Five, smile fading at this point. "I thought you of all people would appreciate how fragile the time stream can be."

Superman X wasn't sure if this was meant as an insult or if Brainiac Five was being genuine. Perhaps if he didn't question it they could talk civilly for a change?

"Are you-" began Superman X, trying hard to suppress his urge to avoid the question completely. He wasn't used to being concerned about other people's feelings. Then again, he had never been concerned about any feelings at all for that matter. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be alright," said Brainiac Five, looking away. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," said Superman X, wishing that K.3.N.T had taught a course on dating during his training.

"What are you going to do once Imperiax is gone?" asked Brainiac Five.

Superman X blinked. There had been a brief moment; back when he first met the Legion that Brainiac Five asked him a similar question when they thought Imperiax was gone forever. Back then Brainiac Five had smiled in jest before they knew their situation was no joke.

"Something," began Superman X, looking at Brainiac Five in all seriousness, "that involves less scowling."

Brainiac Five half laughed and said, "Seems like a good idea, but maybe you should give it a little more thought." With that said, he turned and went somewhere else. To his lab, his room, or somewhere else entirely, Superman X didn't know.

Standing there, Superman thought of what he would do with Imperiax gone. If the time stream didn't swallow him up he would like to stay with the Legion. Fighting was all he was good for after all.

_But then again_, thought Superman X, looking at the spot Brainiac Five had been when the android had smiled at him; the first smile in his direction since the time tunnel, _it would be nice to be able to live for a person instead of a mission_.


End file.
